widow, minority, few
On'yomi (音読み)
- カ
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
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About this kanji
The kanji 寡 (か) primarily means "few" or refers to a "minority" and often relates to concepts involving scarcity or lack. This kanji mainly appears in nouns. One common compound is 寡婦 (かふ), which means "widow," referring to a woman who has lost her husband. Another is 寡黙 (かもく), meaning "untalkative," describing someone who speaks very little. There’s also 寡占 (かせん), which translates to "oligopoly," a term used in economics to describe a market dominated by a few sellers. A useful note is that while 寡 can imply a sense of absence, it can also highlight the importance of what is limited.
Example sentences
彼は寡黙な人だ。
He is a reticent person.
Meanings across languages
- English
- widow, minority, few
- Tiếng Việt
- góa, thiểu số
- 日本語
- 寡
- 한국어
- 과부
- 中文
- 寡
- id
- janda
- th
- หญิงหม้าย
- es
- viuda
- fr
- veuve
- de
- Witwe
- pt
- viúva
Common compounds
- 寡占かせんoligopoly, control of a market
- 寡婦かふwidow, divorced woman not remarried, unmarried woman
- 寡黙かもくuntalkative, quiet, taciturn
- 寡作かさくunprolific (writer, artist, etc.)
- 多寡たかdegree (of something), greatness or smallness (of something), quantity
- 寡言かげんreticence, taciturnity
- 寡少かしょうexceedingly little, exceedingly few, scanty
- 寡勢かぜいsmall military force, numerically inferior force
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